Samuel Barber

Samuel Barber was the most conservative and European-influenced of the major American composers of the 20th century, yet his expressive range was far wider than lovers of his most well-known works may realise. Barber began writing music during his Pennsylvania childhood and decided to become a composer at the age of 9. At 14, he enrolled as one of the first students of the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia. He studied composition with the traditionally-minded Italian Rosario Scalero and also singing. It was at the Institute that he met the Italian-born composer and librettist Gian Carlo Menotti, who would become his long-term partner. His studies encouraged his talents to such an extent that he was still only 25 when he won a Pulitzer Travelling Scholarship and the American Prix de Rome. Stylistically influenced by neoclassicism, especially the works of Igor Stravinsky, Barber integrated contemporary American sound forms such as jazz elements into his music. In the summer of 1936 in Austria, Barber wrote his only string quartet, arranging its soulful central slow movement for string orchestra in 1938. Premiered by the famous conductor Arturo Toscanini, the Adagio for Strings made Barber's name. It was to become his best-known piece, for a time even outshining other works in the public eye, and he was able to devote himself almost entirely to composing after abandoning his early activities as a singer, choral conductor, and teacher. Barber's work covered a variety of different genres, and he wrote two symphonies and numerous other orchestral works. Popular with artists and audiences alike were the Violin Concerto, the Cello Concerto, and his Piano Concerto, as well as vocal works. As a trained singer, Barber wrote extensively and gratefully for the voice. An important place in Barber's oeuvre is also occupied by his operas and stage works. In addition to the opera Vanessa, the short opera Hand of a Bridge, and the ballet Medea, it is above all Anthony and Cleopatra that became internationally famous. The stage drama was commissioned by New York's Lincoln Center and premiered at the inauguration of the Metropolitan Opera's new building in September 1966. Despite the opera being a failure initially and the cause of his depression and alcoholism, Barber went on composing almost up to his death. He is considered one of the most important tonal composers of the 20th century, whose preference for classical and romantic harmony opened a large audience for him.